Ash Regan on an independent campaign with her own manifesto

April 21, 2026 2:04 pm

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Ten years after she was first elected as an SNP MSP, the Independent candidate for Edinburgh and Lothians East region, Ash Regan, has published her Mini Manifesto entitled “Making Holyrood Work for Scotland”.

Asked whether her political ideals still align with the SNP she said that there is still a need for independence, but as to the rest, she said: “I couldn’t really tell you what the main ideals of the SNP are at the moment, other than trying to dismantle women’s rights and shut down our very important oil industry.”

Ms Regan, who was previously a leadership candidate in the SNP, disagreed with The Scottish Government’s stance on women’s rights, and in particular the SNP’s handling of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, so vehemently that she resigned as a government minister. She then resigned from the SNP, switching to Alex Salmond’s Alba Party. Finally she resigned from that party when she found herself at odds with the Alba leadership after Salmond’s death, and became an independent MSP.

She said: “I think it is an important time for the parliament. The last session – I think the public will have found it to be dispiriting and depressing. We have huge power in The Scottish Parliament to do good for the people of Scotland, and I think what the public will have seen is just us bickering and not producing anything.

“We spent weeks and weeks at the end of the last session, and we have done absolutely nothing good for the people of Scotland in that time. I think there is a need for independence, because I think the party political system really doesn’t reward people who think for themselves. And I think people want politicians who think for themselves.”

She considered the last session as a period when “a lot more that was good” could have been achieved.

On independence she feels that there is “painful prevarication” on the part of the SNP, the foremost of the pro-independence parties. As for the Alba Party which folded this year, she feels it was riven by “internal strife” which “is a pity” and she feels there is room for other pro-independence parties.

Women’s rights

Considering the next administration and what will happen on women’s rights then, she said: “Obviously we don’t know who is going to be the government in the next session, but if it is the same government – the SNP – then it looks like they are planning on continuing down this route of trying to subvert the Supreme Court judgment. So women are not safe under an SNP government. We need politicians in that parliament who can stand up to them, who are strong and experienced and can hold the government to account.”

The Supreme Court issued a decision on 16 April 2025 determining the way that the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ would be interpreted in the Equality Act 2010, having regard to the Gender Recognition Act 2004. The court decided that reference to these terms refers to biological sex.

Ms Regan feels that The Scottish Government is seeking to overturn the Supreme Court judgment on the definition of sex “by going to various courts”. She asserted that they are saying one thing in public and another behind everyone’s backs. She said: “They say we accept the judgement while secretly seeking to try to undermine it through other different routes. But they do not accept the judgment and they do not want to implement the judgement and they are working hard using public money to undermine it.”

The example Ms Regan gave was that the government continues to fight For Women Scotland Ltd in the courts, while “violent males” are being held in the women’s prison estate. She said there is no need for them to do that, and yet “they’re using more and more public money to fight that in court when they should just be saying actually we got this wrong and we will sort it out.”

Ash Regan Photo Iain Masterton Photography

Prostitution law reform

Ms Regan promoted reform of prostitution law in the last session, in her Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, which did not make it onto the statute books.

She has been vocal in her condemnation of the government for their lack of support on the matter, calling the decision “quite disgusting”.

She said: “This is something the parliament could have done which would have made a huge different to people in Scotland. It would have sent out a really strong message to our young women. It would have said that girls are not commodities and that men and boys are not punters or buyers. I think it would have been a very positive thing for Scotland.”

Going her own way

As an independent candidate, Ms Regan lacks the power of a party machine to organise photo calls and interviews, but she said that she has both men and women who have volunteered to help her get her election message out, although it is still a “challenge”. But she claims to have a clear message which is in her manifesto reproduced below.

She said: “I would be going back into Holyrood to stand up for women’s rights and protect children, and to really work towards spending money appropriately in The Scottish Parliament. We have got away from competent governance in recent years.”

Asked to look back at the five year term just finished, Ash Regan does not regret what has happened in her own political career, and what has led to her standing in this election as an independent candidate. She said: “I am totally comfortable with what I’ve done, and I believe I have done the right things for the right reasons. I am not sure there are a lot of other politicians who could say the same. Arguably this gender ideology has claimed two first ministers.”

When thinking about John Swinney’s actions since taking over as first minister in May 2024, Ms Regan admitted that things were already different by the time he took office. She said he took over at a different point than in 2018 when Nicola Sturgeon was trying to “build a consensus” around the need for reform.

By the time Mr Swinney became first minister, the law had been blocked by the UK Government with a Section 35 notice issued in January 2023 by then Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack. The notice prevented the Gender Reform legislation passed in The Scottish Parliament from progressing into law.

She said: “I was hoping that John Swinney would have the courage and the morals to say ‘we’ve got this wrong and we are going to do better’, but he has not done that. He has chosen to continue with it whilst lying to the public about doing that. I think that is the worst of all worlds.”

Mini-manifesto

Ash Regan’s starting position in publishing her manifesto is that Scotland’s challenge isn’t a shortage of ideas, rather it’s making those ideas happen.

“Today, I launch my mini manifesto, ‘Making Holyrood Work for Scotland,’ setting out a clear, practical plan to improve how government functions and delivers for people across Scotland.”

“Across government, the same pattern has emerged: problems are identified, reports are written, but the link between evidence, decision-making, and real-world outcomes is often missing. The result is legislation that is difficult to implement, hard to understand, and too slow or ineffective to make a real difference. Some recent legislation has even been challenged or blocked in the courts.

“This mini manifesto outlines a different approach: identifying problems and solutions grounded in evidence, prioritising them, and delivering practical, real-world improvements for people across Scotland.”

“Let’s join the dots and get the basics right.”

“With a decade of parliamentary experience, I will use these lessons to strengthen committee work, advance legislation, and build cross-party consensus for Scotland.

“My commitment is to be an independent voice for the people I represent, focused on your priorities, asking the right questions without fear or favour, and raising the standard of delivery across parliament.

“Scotland deserves political representation and leadership that connects problems to solutions and follows through. Making Holyrood work again means joining the dots to deliver real change: for women, for children and for Scotland.”

Ms Regan says the core of her mini-manifesto is ensuring that lawmaking is evidence-based and delivers clear results. What she calls “Joining the Dots: From Evidence to Action”.

Key principles include:

• Linking data, frontline experience, and lived reality to legislative priorities
• Designing legislation that works in practice, not just in theory
• Requiring a clear chain from problem – evidence – solution – measurable outcome
• Strengthening scrutiny so laws are enforceable and properly resourced
• Prioritising fewer, better laws focused on delivery
• Exploring non-legislative solutions through collaboration with businesses and communities
• Improving transparency and public understanding
• Embedding continuous evaluation to adapt policies quickly when needed

FOR WOMEN

My manifesto makes clear commitments to place child safeguarding and women’s safety, dignity, and health at the centre of policymaking. The key commitments are: